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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

National Historic Preservation Act Diluted as Congress Adopts Military LAND Act, Opposed by Department of Defense

Immediately
before the Memorial Day weekend, the House of Representative voted 325-98
to approve the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2015. That bill included the Military LAND Act, which is opposed by the
defense department.

If enacted into law, the Military LAND Act would dilute the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) by allowing a federal agency head to
single-handedly block an historic property from being classified as a culturally protected site.

The bill specifically would require the Secretary of the
Interior to alert the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources anytime a federally owned property is
reviewed for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places for
designation as a National Historic Landmark or for nomination to the World
Heritage List. Items that qualify would include
those that are significant to American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering,
and culture. The bill would allow the head of any federal agency
managing historic properties to object on the grounds of national security.

Maureen Sullivan of the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary
of Defense (Installations and Environment) and the Secretary of Defense’s
representative to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation told Congress that the NHPA has been working for
the U.S. military. “We do not … believe that H.R. 3687 [the Military LAND Act] is
currently needed to preserve our access to the lands we need to test and train,”
she said. Sullivan testified:

The National Historic Preservation Act, as
currently enacted, supports the warfighter by preserving our ability to effectively use our
lands and built environment to support needed testing and training. The Act also protects the
quality of life for our military men and women, their families, and the public by facilitating a
strong connection to our shared history, culture, and traditions. Finally, it promotes efficiencies
by encouraging partnerships with national, state, regional, tribal, and local agencies and
organizations.

The National Historic Preservation Act provides
the foundation for the Department of Defense’s Cultural Resources Management Program.
For almost 50 years, the Act has proven instrumental in helping our installations develop
cooperative plans and projects that have benefited cultural resources on military lands
and facilitated our mission. The current regulations implementing the Act, as well as the
National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmark nomination processes,
work well for DoD. Although managing the Department’s large inventory of historic
properties requires vigilance, we have not found compliance with the NHPA to be an impediment to
our ability to meet our military readiness obligations.

Lawmakers adopted the NHPA in 1966 and, forty
years later, President George W. Bush enacted fresh amendments. First Lady Laura Bush
marked
the anniversary in 2006 at the Preserve America Summit by expressing
support for preserving America’s heritage, characterizing it as the “soul of
the United States.” The NHPA is one of several legislative descendants of President
Theodore Roosevelt’s Antiquities Act of 1906.

Having been passed by the House, the Military
LAND Act now will be considered by the Senate.

2015 ABA Journal Blawg 100 Honoree

2014 ABA Journal Blawg 100 Honoree

2014 Daniel Webster International Lawyer of the Year award given to Rick St. Hilaire

"Rick St. Hilaire, who has become an authority on cultural heritage law, received the International Law Section’s 2014 Daniel Webster International Lawyer of the Year award at an Oct. 30 reception in Manchester, hosted by Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green." - NH Bar News, November 19, 2014

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